A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

What is it?

A special edition PINK Cherry ChapStick offering SPF 15, providing protection from UV rays whilst helping raise money for charity.

How much is it?

Available to purchase in a twin-pack, priced at £2.49

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

20p from each sale will go to Breast Cancer Care

How do I get it?

Available throughout October from most supermarkets and pharmacies.

I’m usually the woman who loves the fragrances that others hate, so reading Julian Kynaston describe the brand’s first foray into perfumery as:

There’s no middle ground with Freak.  The name, the packaging and the fragrance will polarise opinion to simply love or hate.

I can’t help but feel tremendously excited.  I’m really hoping for something that strays wildly from the well-trodden, mass-appeal fruity-floral, mild musk that proliferates the market today.

Illamasqua’s Freak lists top notes of: Black Davana, Opium Flower and Belladonna followed up with heart notes that include: Poison Hemlock, Datura and Queen of  the Night (are they making these florals up?) sitting on a base of aromatic Frankincense, Oud and Myrrh.  Finally, something I can grasp at, and although I’m not the world’s bigest fan of Frankincense, I do love (quality) Oud and Myrrh.  Freak will be available to purchase only in 75ml bottles and will be priced at £59.00.

I have a niggling concern that Illamasqua Freak has the potential to demonstrate a classic case of style over content.  Everything about the fragrance has been so carefully constructed to fit with the brand’s ethos and whilst that’s clearly not something to be criticised, I hope that the sum of these individual (edgy-sounding) notes add up to something that represents and rings true for their fans.  I don’t actually care if I hate it, I just want it to be engaging enough to make me care one way or another.  I also want it to be powerful, with great sillage and turn heads regardless – it wouldn’t be Illamasqua without that quality.  The fact that it will be released exclusively as an EDP has me hoping.

First impressions based upon the campaign film and images alone?  I dislike the name, love the film and adore the bottle.

So there we have it, Illamasqua’s first fragrance.  On paper, it works.  On the fragrance blotter and under our noses?  Time will tell.

Freak by Illamasqua is available for pre-order from the 3rd October online at Illamasqua.com before it launches on the 20th October.

What is it?

This Serum, consisting of Resveratrol, Glycosaminoglycanes and Calm Complex™, soothes and softens the skin’s  appearance.  It is a powerful, instantly-acting concentrate that reduces the appearance of redness. Darphin Calm Complex™ is an exclusive combination of 5 ingredients developed by Darphin. A combination of Chamomile, Polysaccharides, Hawthorn, Peony and Panthenol.

How much is it?

Darphin Intral Soothing Serum is priced at £47 for 30ml

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

Darphin will be donating £5 from each sale of their best-selling Darphin Intral Soothing Serum sold in the UK during
the month of October to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s study at the UK Institute of Cancer Research.

How do I get it?

You can purchase Darphin Intral Soothing Serum online or instore at SpaceNK.

The third polish in my mini Zoya haul was Neeka from the Fall 2011 Smoke and Mirrors collection.

A pretty purple/grape polish with gold sparkle, this wasn’t as dusty as I hoped.  Not that there’s anything wrong with the base colour but I expected something a little greyer from Zoya’s description of the shade.  Never mind, I’m not adverse to any kind of purple on my nails!

The formula of this was very similar to Yara and I achieved excellent coverage with two coats.

Zoya Neeka is available to buy online from Beauty4Nails-Body priced at £7.99

What is it?

A lipstick/gloss duo featuring two bestselling Jane Iredale shades in a petite, portable keychain locket that features a pink Swarovski crystal.

How much is it?

The Roses & Lollipops duo is priced at £19.95.

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

The UK & Ireland distributor of Jane Iredale have pledged 100% of the net profits from sales of Roses & Lollipops to charity Against Breast Cancer.

How do I get it?

The Roses & Lollipops duo is available to buy online from MineralBeauty.co.uk

Always a sucker for a bargain, I dived in head first when ELF recently cut the prices of their new(ish) Studio Matte Lip Colors to £1 a piece.  I jumped on them more because I love lipsticks in pen form than because I love matte formulas.  Let’s face it, matte formulas can be tricky to wear unless you’re 14 and addicted to Carmex.

Currently available on the UK website in four neutral shades, I grabbed the lot (and some nail polishes that I’ll probably never get round to blogging).

Tea Rose, Coral, Praline and Natural are the four shades available to purchase.

Here’s what they look like in the tubes…

For what it’s worth, I really like the packaging on these.  The simple and minimalistic black casing defies their £3.50 price tag.  The lids click to a tight, flush close and the twist mechanism feels like it will go the distance.  No complaints from me.

The formula on these didn’t vary too much between shades.  I found Praline perhaps gave the most drag during application, a little less creamy than the others but probably my favourite to wear because it looked the least chalky once applied.

Tea Rose was the creamiest but I felt that the colour was a little off, it’s quite mauve based which made my lips look a little… dead.

Coral looks far more apricot than a true coral shade in my humble opinion and Natural is easily the most nude for my complexion.  They’re a good, solid bunch of lip-neutral shades and I think most should be able to find one shade from the selection that will suit their skintones well.

And the lip swatches…

I know I usually do a full-face shot with lip swatches for context but none of them flattered me and I have a huge zit on my chin that has been there (without a head) for the past week – some days, you just can’t face those pesky FOTDs and today was one of them.  I also thought the close up might be useful so that you can see just how ‘drying’ each shade appears on the lips.

The paler shades definitely come out a little chalky looking, something that would easily be remedied by a touch of lipgloss to conceal those furrows.  In terms of comfort, I didn’t actually find them particularly drying on the lips which is testament to a quality purchase from the budget brand, however, I wouldn’t describe them as moisturising either.  Just your standard, good quality matte lipstick.

The ELF Studio Matte Lip Colors taste very fruity but are not particularly scented, something which surprised me (on both counts).  The taste, although synthetic, is pleasant enough…. similar to what you’d expect from something like a chapstick.

Overall, and for the money, I can’t really fault them too much.  Sure, I’m not really a fan of how the colours turned out against my skintone but that’s personal preference… throw me a red or hot pink and this could well have been a gushing post of epic proportions.  I’d say, give ’em a go – you might just find your holy grail nude matte lip!

ELF Studio Matte Lip Colors are available to purchase online at the ELF website, priced at £3.50 each.

Well, more… mini-sized, nano would just be ridiculous despite the mileage one might get from the whole alliteration thing.  Could you imagine trying to paint your nails with a brush designed for a nano-sized container?  That would take polish rage to a whole other level.  You get polish rage too right?

The sizing comes in at 7ml and retails online at around the £5.25 mark.  It doesn’t work out to be the most cost-effective way to purchase polish (buy in bulk people) but it’s still a cute gift idea for people you don’t like enough to shell out the full amount of money on right?

Was I not supposed to say that out loud?

What I particularly like about the mini range is that Nubar have included some of their cult classics (*cough* Peacock Feathers *cough*) in the 54-piece shrinkies and not held their best-selling shades hostage.

Nubar minis are available online at BeautyShed priced at £5.25 each or from Nubar-Nailz priced at £5.00 each

What is it?

A 3 piece collection of Elemis’ hero skincare products neatly presented in a BRIGHT PINK travel case!

Pro Collagen Marine Cream (30ml)
Pro Collagen Lifting Treatment Neck and Bust (15ml)
Skin Nourishing Shower Cream (50ml)

How much is it?

The set retails at £29.90, saving 50% off the usual prices.

How much of your money goes to PINK projects?

Elemis have pledged a donation of £10,000 this October to Breast Cancer Care.

How do I get it?

The Elemis Think Pink Beauty Kit is available to buy online from timetospa.co.uk or in spas/salons and selected department stores.

On Monday night, I was invited to attend a rare UK appearance from Dr. Howard Murad who was visiting the UK with his son Jeff to introduce a few new products to the brand’s lineup.  Included in the launch are a new range of primers, marketed as “Hybrids” that draw maximum inspiration from the well-established skincare line.

The 4-piece range includes:

Hybrids Skin Perfecting Primer Matte Finish (£27)
Hybrids Skin Perfecting Primer Dewy Finish (£27)
Hybrids Eye Lift Illuminator (£25)
Hybrids Eye Lift Perfector (£25)

The two Skin Perfecting Primers in the range project obvious differences in overall finish (one matte, one glowy) but both claim to offer universal shade-matching from an oil-free formula.  They promise to disguise flaws, even skin texture and minimise the appearance of pores whilst balancing oil production.  Sadly, there’s nothing specific in the release about promoting longevity of makeup but that may well come under the ‘balancing oil production’ umbrella.

The other two products are intended for the eye area.  The Eye Lift Illuminator promises to instantly brighten the eyes thanks to a colour corrective formula (violet-toned), whilst hydrating, de-puffing, and minimising dark circles to give the surrounding delicate skin a more youthful appearance.

The final product is the Eye Lift Perfector which promises the same improvements to general skin health as the Illuminator but with the addition of a natural tint (concealer) to even skin tone further.

I won’t deny it, I’m very excited to try the skin primers – and for one reason in particular.  The brand have placed emphasis on something that sounds remarkably worthy of an eye-roll but has me wetting myself in anticipation regardless…

Pore Factor-5.

Murad describes Pore Factor-5 as a proprietary technology that will…

~ Improve skin grain by tightening dilated pores
~ Blends with skin’s natural pigments to add luminosity to the skin while msoothing out fine lines and wrinkles
~ Normalizes oil production and helps control bacterial proliferation
~ Soothes and reduces inflammation
~ Protects against the damaging effects of UV-induced free radicals to preserve and improve skin elasticity, firmness and tone.

Honestly, I’m too fixated on that first one to bother caring about the rest.  Note how it doesn’t say ‘improves the appearance of pores’.  Yeahhhh Murad, you’ve just given me a BENCHMARK.  I like benchmarks.

I’ll be putting the primers to the test over the next few weeks and will be looking for all these lovely, instant results that I wanna see.  As a fairly pore-y kinda chick, I’ve got my fingers crossed.

Murad’s new Hybrids range is available to buy online from Murad, Feel Unique, Urban Retreat Beautique and from leading salons and spas nationwide.

I fished the Smashbox Soft Focus Powder Eyeliner in Gunmetal out of a press day goody bag a couple of months ago and promptly fell in love.  Deeply pigmented with a lovely hint of sparkle, it ticked many of the boxes that the Guerlain powder liners have never been able to do for me — number one being a soft, flexible tip that doesn’t fill me with fear everytime it comes within 2 inches of my eyeball.

I think that these powder eyeliners are a love ’em/hate ’em type affair and after buying and giving up on the Guerlain Kohl, I thought I was in the latter camp along with all the other haterz.

Not so.

Yes, there’s fall out.  Obviously more so than any other kind of liner but I remedy this by applying before foundation and it doesn’t bother me.  You can (if you’re careful), apply without dropping a speck but if you manage it consistently, you’re a better woman than I am.

The ‘nib’ of the wand is a flexible, soft sponge that holds enough rigidity to run along the waterline but is also soft enough to provide a good application to the lashline.  I feel that the Smashbox shades are inferior to Guerlain’s which are generally, simply beautiful — but I can work with these happily.

The Gunmetal on the left contains more sparkle than the Black.  The fall out is visible and I didn’t take any care here to minimise it.   I went out and bought the Black because I loved the smoky definition that the Gunmetal provided but wanted something a little more dramatic to wear in the evenings.

My favourite thing about the Smashbox Soft Focus Powder Eyeliner is the way they wear after a few hours, the line fades evenly and cleanly – if you want something sharply defined that will look the same at 6pm as it did at 8am, these won’t be for you.  Over the course of the day, they soften and melt without straying too far and give a nicely ‘lived in’ look, not as dramatic as the whole rock-chick thing but heading in that direction.

The Smashbox Soft Focus Powder Eyeliners are priced at £19.50 each (yes, expensive) and are available instore at Debenhams, or you could save a few pennies and buy online from JustBeautyDirect.

Do you wear loose powder eyeliner?  Love it or Hate it?

This Thursday, I politely suggest that you don’t venture too far from your local John Lewis.  Trust me on this…

Luxury Haircare brand Ojon are offering a rather hair-raising product amnesty deal.

On the 29th September, for one day only (and while stocks last), venture instore at your local John Lewis where Ojon are offering customers the chance to take home a full sized Damage Reverse Shampoo and a full sized Damage Reverse Conditioner by simply trading in any empty shampoo or conditioner bottle, no purchase necessary*.

Yeah, I had to read it more than once too.

The Ojon Damage Reverse Shampoo and Conditioner is formulated with Ojon™ Oil and is designed to hydrate extremely dry, damaged hair and helps strengthen it to protect from future breakage.  Just what we need as the seasons change and we gradually enter the big freeze!

I’ve got my empty bottle of shampoo ready, now… where’s my elbow sharpener, ‘cos I predict this might be a wee bit popular.  If you’re keen to take advantage, I suggest you get to your local John Lewis store early.

* one per customer – don’t be GREEDY!  Stockist list is available here.

Let me introduce myself, my name is Sarah and I have no eyebrows.  Nope, nada, none.  It’s not that I’m deformed, they’re just not there — they don’t exist.  And before you’re quick to judge like most, I did not wax, shave, torture, over-pluck, or burn them off in a freak accident.  For a mousy brown haired girl, I simply have very fair eyebrows that have some slight growth at the start before fading away to nothing.

For a long time, this didn’t worry me but then it became a mission, a quest for the perfectly arched, fierce, don’t-mess-with-me power brow.  I have tried countless pencils (too harsh), filling in with eyeshadow (too dusty) and gels (too brown), alas the search for real Brooke Shield brows was still defeating me; until Charlotte offered me the M2BROWS Eyebrow Renewing Serum to trial.

Stocked at Harrods and retailing at a rather pricey £133, I had high hopes for this baby.  Infused with natural black sea rod oil, the serum aims to stimulate growth for sparse or out-of-shape brows in just under six weeks.  I followed the easy instructions and got into the routine of painting the liquid onto clean brows after showering and before applying my night time moisturiser.  The brush applicator was easy to use and I was heavy handed, slathering on a generous amount to all, and I mean all, areas of the brow.

After a week or so, I began to see growth, mainly in the sparse area beyond the arch.  Over the coming weeks, the amount of hair increased dramatically, creating the perfect bushy-ness needed for transforming and re-shaping.

I ditched my tweezers for the 6-8 week trial so that you would be able to witness the results, thank the lord for glasses to hide the re-growth!

To my utter delight you can see the serum worked to full effect, I was completely gobsmacked, the serum had stimulated growth in all areas of the brow – hurrah! However, this new growth was very blonde so it was time to bring in the Eylure Eyebrow Tint and whip these unruly bad boys into shape!

I purchased the at home Eyebrow and Eyelash Tint by Eylure, I was excited, nervous and pretty bloody scared at attempting to do such thing to myself, but it couldn’t have been any easier.  Simply mixing the dye into a thin paste, two minutes later, hey presto the girl HAD EYEBROWS.

After a MASS plucking session, I am pleased to announce that I am currently sporting a very natural, not too bushy, fierce Brooke Shield pair of brows.  It has added a new dimension to my face, creating a better balance.. They say you don’t know what you’re missing till it’s gone, well I never knew what I had till they grew and got tinted!

I highly recommend the M2BROWS Eyebrow Renewing Serum, if like me, you suffer with barely there brows, and I mean barely there, it’s worth splashing the cash.  If you’ve simply over-plucked and you know they will grow back, I would just wait. However, if the actual hair’s there, but very blonde or very fine, then the Eylure Eyebrow Tint is a must.  Priced at a very reasonable £7 (with up to twelve applications), it dyes brows a natural light brown, with no fear of looking like a Scary Mary.

I will continue to use the serum, as there’s plenty left in the tube (even after 10 weeks!) just to help create the perfect shape and make them twins, not just sisters.

My overall thoughts are as follow: HULLALUHAH!